


Mouse and Viper

by twitchtipthegnawer



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Age Difference, Attempted Grooming, Clothed Sex, Cousin Incest, Extremely Dubious Consent, Intercrural Sex, M/M, Outdoor Sex, Size Difference, Von is not the master manipulator he tries to be but he's always got that size advantage, wine as lube
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-26 19:36:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18184841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twitchtipthegnawer/pseuds/twitchtipthegnawer
Summary: Von was born a doomed child. Doomed to a life of misery at the hands of his family, doomed to a religion he could never have faith in, doomed to an early and lonely death.Von was born an intelligent child. When his doom became known to him, he found a way to give it to another. He found a way to save himself from one, if not all of his burdens.Von was born a selfish child. When he met the tiny creature cursed to bear his fate, he didn't seek to spare him. But maybe, just maybe, he wanted that death to be less lonely than it was.





	Mouse and Viper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [peachygreen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachygreen/gifts).



> Commission for @musorkot on twitter or @peachygreen on ao3! This one was tbqh such an honor to write <3 If you want full context then Greenie's got a wonderful story [over here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16522730) This fic is a prequel to that one. In case anyone was wondering what peak D&D character creation looks like... Mara's backstory is it (not my version her version obviously).

The first time Von met Mara, he wasn’t sure what he was meant to feel. Here was the child he’d snatched from some godforsaken life of poverty and loneliness, only to doom him to a sudden, brutal death at the hands of his saviors. It didn’t matter that Von had only done it to save himself - the guilt still bubbled somewhere deep he didn’t know how to excise.

Regardless of if he was the one to deliver the killing blow, would he feel blood on his hands the day that Mara died? He didn’t like to think on it.

Curiosity sat beside that guilt, of course, and so when he came face to face with the round cheeks and dark hair and barely-healed piercings, he wondered what Mara might say. The little priest who had weighed on his mind for nearly a year.

Of course, as a baby, it wasn’t like Mara could say anything.

When he held his hand out to the little thing (during unstructured study time, when an adult had put him down only briefly and left him in the careless care of his older siblings), he wasn’t sure what he expected. Mara grabbed his finger, because of course he did. He was a baby. He had no way of knowing that Von had robbed him of any joy he might once have had a chance at, and even if he did, babies grabbed things on reflex.

His hand was so soft. Von felt sick to his stomach.

After that, he took to avoiding Mara. Which wasn’t hard right up until he was old enough to walk, and then old enough to have _opinions._

“Cousin?” Said Mara, baby-high but already perfectly understated. “Would you help me read this, please?”

Small as he was, Mara’s arms shook with the weight of the book he was holding up. Von recognized the spells as far more difficult than he could’ve handled at that age, and doubted Mara would be capable of casting them either. “I could just read it to you,” he offered, more as a test than because he wanted to.

Blinking owlishly, Mara tilted his head. “But if you do it for me, then I can’t learn how to do it myself. My mothers say I haveta learn by strugg-le-ling.” The way he sounded it out, so young and already buying into it, made Von as queasy as Mara’s innocence once had.

“Why are you asking me? One of your siblings would be happy to help you out. You’re already the family favorite.”

“Mothers and Fathers must not have favorites,” Mara said, reciting from memory. “They love us all equally!”

“Fuck off with that shit! I’m not helping you suck up any more than you already are, clearly.”

Perhaps if Von had kept his tone mild, Mara would’ve simply blinked more at the unfamiliar curse words. But because instead he ground them out between his teeth, all barely-bridled anger belied by that ever present, festering, _drowning_ guilt, Mara cringed backwards.

For a split second, the crumpling of that little face felt - good. It was a similar kind of rush that Von got from sneaking out. A fleeting moment where, despite all his knowledge to the contrary, he felt he had power over his surroundings. The ability to change something, anything, about his current circumstances. He was so confused by his own reaction that he didn’t even shout after the little boy as Mara retreated.

Laying in bed that night, however, Von found that he was eager for a second chance at it. Being the manipulator, instead of the manipulated. Feeling like he could _breathe_ again, even if he had to stand on the back of a child to get his head above water.

He should’ve known it wasn’t going to be that simple, because after snapping at Mara just once, Von found that now _Mara_ was the one avoiding _him._

It was bitterly frustrating, getting what he’d wanted just in time to realize it wasn’t exactly _what he wanted._

Entire years passed, too fast and not fast enough. Each chance he had to talk to Mara slipped through his fingers far too easily, and frustration built up like water under pressure. Ready to erupt into a geyser.

Four times each year, he would try all the strategies he’d come up with in the interim. The long, long interims, filled with avoidance and whispers they _knew_ he could hear. _“Incorrigible… the longer we leave him, the colder he gets… but if he talks…”_ At least Mara gave him a distraction, to the point where he even caught himself thinking about him when he was lurking in the corners of inns he snuck to under cover of night. He would’ve been furious about memories of his family following him everywhere if his imagination hadn’t begun filling in the blanks.

Wine made him both more creative and more careless, which was why he was cautious during grand dinners not to consume too much of it. He was playing a game with Mara the other boy wasn’t even aware of, and he refused to give up any of his advantages.

At eight, Mara was already too good at fitting in. It was strange, thinking that he hadn’t been born into their family, and Von had. Thinking that he wouldn’t be staying with the family much longer, and Von would be.

“Are you scared of me?”

Von knew the answer. He wanted to know what Mara would say, with his older siblings just barely in earshot.

Narrow shoulders as tense as they could go, Mara shook his head tersely. “I don’t understand you, of course. You chose to cause yourself so much unnecessary suffering in your denial of our righteous path, but that doesn’t mean I’m afraid of you.”

“I cause myself suffering?” Von snorted, then leaned in close. His breath made Mara shiver when it washed over his ear - interestingly, Mara didn’t pull away. “Do you think I _wouldn’t_ suffer if I was good and obedient, like you? Is your life really that perfect?”

“My life is blessed,” said Mara defensively. “Whatever pain I feel is only to teach me the righteous path, and I - I love learning, regardless of how I need to do it.” He’d pitched his voice lower too, to match Von’s, and Von wondered if he’d even noticed he was doing it.

“You’re too smart to be this fucking stupid.”

The slavish devotion Mara showed to their dumbass cult always got to Von, sooner or later. And then he would snap, and Mara would bite his bottom lip (his lips were so full - no, no, stop) and retreat, emotionally if not physically, and Von would be hard pressed to get another reaction out of him. He usually came away with at least one valuable piece of information, though.

So Mara loved learning? Von could teach him.

For that reason, he found himself in Mara’s doorway one night, long after the boy should’ve been asleep. Von was surprised to find that he didn’t walk in on a softly breathing lump under the covers, but instead the little priest up reading by a ghostly light hovering over his fingertips.

“V-Von,” Mara said, snuffing the light as soon as he noticed the door was open. “What’re you doing here?”

“I was thinking about teaching you the importance of misbehavior, but I can see I don’t need to.”

Already, Mara was out of his day clothes and in a nightshirt which hung off his shoulders and exposed his clavicle. Von averted his eyes, and then paused. Why should he have to?

Mara was too busy trying to defend himself to notice Von’s predicament. “I’m not staying up simply to satisfy my own selfish desires. I’m _learning.”_

“You know, you can’t learn everything from a book,” Von came in, watched with mouthwatering satisfaction as his approach had Mara drawing his knees up close to his chest. His nightshirt rode up his thighs, and it occurred to Von that, when he sought out partners to join him in dark inn corners, he did tend to prefer brunettes.

Unexpectedly, a small smile ticked up the corner of Mara’s lips. “What could you teach me, that these books could not? If you’re trying to put more wicked thoughts in my head, like the other day at lunch - ”

Biting his bottom lip, Von sat on the edge of Mara’s bed. At least _that_ shut him up. “The family _does_ restrict some information by age. I could get you books intended for your older siblings and cousins. If it’s from our family, then you wouldn’t call it _wicked,_ would you?”

Doubt was plain on Mara’s face - but so was temptation. “Why are you offering me this? You… hate me, don’t you?”

“Who told you that?”

“No one. It’s plain to see that I’m the one you most often single out for your _conversations.”_

“Well, I don’t hate you. I guess I pity you, for buying into all this bullshit even though you weren’t even born into it.”

Though the mention of Mara’s lineage hadn’t been meant as a dig, Mara’s little flinch at the reminder still had Von’s heartbeat picking up. “So, you’re offering me information out of pity? Information which I am not meant to have yet?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Von planted a hand on the bed by Mara’s hip and leaned over him. “If you _must,_ think of it this way. The rules are designed to fit everyone _generally,_ but you must’ve noticed by now that you’re more skilled than many children older than you. Why shouldn’t you access the information proportionally earlier?”

“I…” Mara leaned away from him, his face screwed up in thought. “Regardless of how clever I may be, I’m not above the rules.”

And there went Von’s temper. “You don’t have an original thought in that little head of yours, do you? You just parrot back everything they’ve told you, and you don’t _think_ about it at all!”

Carefulness, it was plain to see, wasn’t serving him at all. He left the room quickly, before he did something that would cause even more trouble for him tomorrow. If he couldn’t tempt Mara with knowledge, what _could_ he tempt him with?

Those dark thighs, soft with baby fat. The gap between his shirt and his skin, when he leaned over - if it hadn’t been so dark, Von might’ve been able to see his nipples. Talk about temptation.

On the one hand, a change in strategy might improve his ability to manipulate Mara. On the other, the fact that he couldn’t stop himself from thinking these things _burned._ Like he imagined volcanic vents deep in the sea, oppressive weight and miles of water above him and Mara beneath him, so, so warm.

Entirely too much time passed, and Von found himself acting out more and more each time the family gathered. Powerless, crushed, unable to get the one thing he wanted for himself -

When Mara was ten years old, Von felt the hourglass he hadn’t known was in his head getting bottom heavy. Soon, soon, the last of the sand would slip through and it would tip over, fall to the ground, and shatter. Only three more years.

Maybe that was why he did what he did. Maybe it was because, as much as he tried to think of Mara as one more pitiful cog in the limping, diseased machine of his family, he couldn’t help but single him out of a crowd more often than not. It wasn’t hard to find him and follow him with his eyes, and Mara, like most people, underestimated Von too much to notice.

Maybe it was because he wanted Mara to _stop_ underestimating him.

If carefulness hadn’t worked, maybe creativity would. This time, when Von walked into Mara’s room, the younger boy didn’t seem the least bit surprised until the smell hit him.

“How much wine have you had to drink?” Mara asked, cautiously. As if he even knew what the consequences to inebriation might be. Ignorant, stupid, naive little thing.

“I’m not a thing,” said Mara.

“Was I speaking aloud?” Von smiled. Stalked closer, and once again Mara curled up so small on his bed. Bigger than he had been, though. Puberty was going to be kicking in before long, wouldn’t it? “I notice you didn’t argue about being ignorant, or stupid, or naive.”

“I’m wise enough to know I _don’t_ know everything, yet. Which is why I need the protection of our mothers and fathers - ”

Dozens of possible responses flashed across Von’s mind as he listened to the same old drivel. _Not wise enough to know by now that I hate when you talk like that,_ or _God, just shut the fuck up._ But better than all of them, whispered the wine, was the option to lean in and take Mara unawares. To prove his naivete to him with a single, silent action.

Kissing Mara was both exactly and nothing at all like what Von had expected. Mara didn’t kiss back, but didn’t push him away either. He seemed mostly frozen with shock; Von didn’t think he was even breathing.

As soon as they broke apart, however, Mara was whispering, “What are you doing?”

Despite his horrified tone, Von noticed he still wasn’t yelling. Did he not want to risk being caught reading? Did he not realize that what Von was doing would easily overshadow that - or did he not want to bring adults in for some other reason?

Was Von succumbing to wishful thinking again? He shook his head as if the questions were nothing more than rain droplets caught in his hair, and said, “What do you think?”

“I’m your _cousin,”_ confidence leaked back into him in trickles, and he started to scoot as if to get out of his bed. “K-kissing me is positively depraved.”

Easy as breathing, Von caught Mara’s wrist and held him in place. He was far from gentle, and in the darkness he thought he saw Mara’s face go a bit ashen. “Are you, now?”

Just like last time, Mara reacted so _strongly_ to the reminder. Von personally thought it was a compliment that Mara didn’t seem to completely belong in the nest of vipers, but he supposed a mouse that spent its whole life trying to be a predator might disagree. Regardless, it gave him the opening he’d wanted.

Plunging one hand into Mara’s (so soft, child-fine) hair, Von forced him to stay in place and kissed him again. Mara sort of fumbled, his mouth moving like he wanted to say something but couldn’t get the sound out, and Von thrust his tongue in before he could stop to think about it.

He was just so _warm._ Von was far from a virgin, despite what his family would say about such sinful dalliances before adulthood. But even so, even in comparison to the obviously inexperienced way Mara jerked and clacked their teeth together - it felt new. For the first time, it felt _disgusting._ Like something Von shouldn’t be doing.

And all the more delicious for it.

Fuck the rules, fuck morals, and fuck Mara.

With how light the younger elf was, Von easily pushed him down on the bed. Wrapping one hand around both his delicate little wrists was just as simple. Von didn’t often feel big, and he never felt powerful, except now he was all pressure and drowning and the _heat._ How was Mara’s mouth so much warmer than his? What would it feel like around his, _ah, fuck._

Was it just reflex that caused Mara to briefly suck on Von’s tongue? Regardless of the reason, his thoughts were brought to a screeching halt.

A bit clumsy (with enthusiasm, not nerves, _not guilt)_ , Von slid one hand down to press Mara’s chest. In his light nightshirt, Von could feel Mara’s nipples already pebbled, and wondered if he was cold, if Von’s body temperature being so much lower was what made him shiver.

Pinching him through his clothes, Von coaxed a small whining sound out of Mara’s throat. He licked at the roof of his mouth, tried to get him to open up more, did it again -

This time, Mara’s whine was a bit louder, and while that made heat curl in Von’s belly, it also made both of them freeze. They waited with bated breath for any sound from the hallway. Had he been loud enough to carry through the walls? Would a sibling or cousin walk in at any moment, or worse, an adult?

Both sighed in relief when a minute passed, and then two, and there was neither the shuffling of footsteps nor the creak of a door. But then, Mara seemed to realize what had been happening, and all of a sudden was squirming to escape in fervor. Von considered; it would be easy enough to keep him pinned down. To do as he wanted, regardless of what Mara might’ve felt. He could shove a handful of bedsheet into that tiny mouth to muffle his noises, or just wrap his hands around his neck.

Somehow, that was too far. Even after everything. Von went reeling backwards as though Mara had burned him. _Infected_ him.

“Wh-what was that,” gasped Mara, the moment he had space to breathe again. “That wasn’t j-just a kiss. Did you cast some sort of spell on me, to produce such a r-reaction?”

Voice cracking and shaking, Mara looked more like a child than ever. His nightshirt trembled on his slight frame. Von’s lip curled, but he wasn’t sure where the disgust was directed this time.

“You really are a child,” sneered Von. And then he ran, like he always did. Like a coward.

Maybe that would’ve been the end of it, if Von hadn’t been quite so used to fear.

That night his passing comparison came back to haunt him in a way he hadn’t expected. He dreamed of Mara crawling up his body, the same except for his large, round ears, and a thin tail curving up over one shoulder. Like a little mouse.

Softly, his thin, nimble fingers grabbed the front of Von’s shirt. Softly, _so_ softly, he hummed a tune Von couldn’t place. “Von,” he said, just that one word, but for the first time in a long time it was tinged in neither disdain nor fear.

Someone had told him once that his name meant ice. Mara, however, made him feel positively _molten._ That hot mouth was at his neck, nibbling away, and Von’s hand rose against his will to touch Mara’s velveteen ear. Such a small creature, but as he moved with confidence downwards and melted Von’s defenses with little kitten licks against his navel, Von thought _he_ might be the prey.

When had Mara gotten under his clothing? Von was losing time, but like with most dreams, he didn’t realize it until afterwards. In the moment, there was only the feeling, wet when Mara licked his lips and opened his mouth into a perfect little “o,” too small to even fit inside but Von could force his way in, and Mara looked like he’d even cooperate this time.

This time?

“If I do this for you,” said Mara, each breath brushing the naked skin of Von’s hip, _so close._ “Will you make sure I can live better than you have lived?”

Waking up, there was only one thought in Von’s head.

Enough was enough. He wasn’t going to run away anymore (if he did, he thought the tension might put him in an early grave).

Almost to spite his impatience, their relationship moved in stops and starts. Always, three months apart and then only a few snatched hours together, rinse and repeat. A rhythm Von had long hated because it afforded him the emptiest kind of relief to be away from “home,” but one he now relied on.

Night felt so far away. Von knew Mara would likely be outside, somewhere near his insufferable siblings, and so he went prowling through the gardens.

Sure enough, Mara hadn’t wandered much, and was so preoccupied, staring at one of his brothers, that he didn’t even notice Von approaching.

Such a peaceful scene. Mara was smiling, absentminded, in a way he never would where he knew Von could see. Was that his fault, too, or had he been doomed to be a villain from the moment he’d learned the truth about his fate? If Von was a bit more self-aware, perhaps he would’ve realized that feeling sorry for himself so often wasn’t winning him any favors from the boy who looked so gently happy just to see a sibling smile.

But because he wasn’t, Von tapped on Mara’s shoulder, and smirked when he got a startled jump out of him. “Come with me,” he said.

“No,” said Mara.

“I want to talk to you.”

“I don’t.”

“Do you want me to talk _at_ you, then?” Von leaned closer, “Where our family can see?”

Darting his eyes from Von’s leer to the long, flowing hair of his brother, Mara chewed his bottom lip in thought. Tiny, blunt teeth on that full lip. Needless to say, Von wasn’t planning on doing very much talking, regardless of if Mara went along with him or not.

Thankfully, Mara did. He obediently followed Von a short distance away, to behind an overgrown bush which effectively obscured them from any curious eyes glancing their way. “Alright,” said Mara. “If you’re quite happy now, what was it you wanted to tell me?”

In answer, Von kissed him. He left Mara no time to react, sweeping the boy off his feet in the next moment. Swiftly falling to his knees, Von took Mara’s breathless gasps into his mouth as though they were the first food he’d had in an age. He pressed Mara into the bush, sure that sharp branches would be prodding at his back, and dug his nails through thick layers of clothing to get at Mara’s sides.

Briefly, they broke apart, Von feeling almost as breathless as Mara. Before he could bask in the surprised glaze over Mara’s eyes, however, or the pliable little body in his grasp, Mara opened his spit-slick mouth and spoke.

“I understand now. You’re a test from God, sent to tempt me on an unrighteous path. It won’t work. I am pious, and devoted.”

“Sure,” Von snorted. “Because dedication is worth _so_ much.”

Because he had a point to prove, and because Mara looked so deliciously vulnerable, Von leaned down and bit the side of his neck harshly. Mara clasped a hand over his mouth at the pain, and when Von pulled back a bit, he could see tears in his eyes. “If you think I’m so evil, why don’t you just yell for help?”

Inhale, exhale. Mara said nothing, just seemed to be focused on trying to get his shaking breaths under control. That was good enough for Von.

A few more kisses were all it took to get Mara breathless again, and then Von was able to shove his knee between Mara’s legs. His little priest tried to push backwards into the bush, but his flinch at the discomfort was enough for Von to confirm that he was getting hard. A-again,” Mara pushed at Von’s shoulders. “It’s just like last time. Wh-what are you doing?”

“Do you really not even know how to feel good?” Von sneered, though inwardly he was happy as a cat with a canary.

“I don’t…” Mara was clearly having trouble thinking straight while Von ground down against him. His belly might not’ve been the softest thing, and there were too many layers of fabric in the way, but Von could already imagine the smooth expanse of his skin. All warm brown like the forests he probably belonged in.

Could ice kill a wood elf like it could kill trees?

Whimpers fell into Von’s lips like so much sweet rain. He would happily drink up all of Mara, keep him to himself. Refuse to give him up.

(Let them kill one of Von’s complacent brothers or sisters, the ones who wouldn’t have missed him if he’d been the one to go. Let him keep Mara.)

Tearing at Mara’s neckline, Von managed to get at his collarbone and scatter a few more bites onto it. Each one prompted tiny, muffled yelps, and yet Mara didn’t try to escape him.

Neither of them was thinking particularly straight, to be fair.

“Mara?” A fluting, carefree voice came from beyond the bush. Mara stiffened, as though the cold ground and Von’s chill body had frozen him solid in an instant. But, Von realized when he grabbed Mara’s hips and forced him to grind down, the mood hadn’t been lost. On the contrary, Mara flushed deeper and deeper. Was he even breathing, in his desperation to be quiet?

Taking care not to jostle the bush and get caught, Von leaned down to lick at Mara’s neckline. A huff of air from Mara’s nose was all he got in response, so he slipped one hand upwards to press his fingers into Mara’s mouth. And, perhaps because Mara wanted something to muffle his voice, he let him.

Despite the relative freedom that grand dinners afforded them, Von couldn’t exactly take his time here. He felt urgency from his anxiety as much as from the pleasure drawing his gut tight, and so he shoved his hand up the long skirts of Mara’s robe, felt him straining against the fabric of his leggings. All he managed was a quick brush of his fingertips, however, and then Mara was making a noise he had to hurriedly kiss into silence.

What a fumbling teenager he was. And yet, when Mara’s shivering subsided, the itch in his veins insisting he continue subsided enough for him to enjoy the sight.

He was somewhat relieved there wasn’t a wet stain in the front of Mara’s rumpled clothes, though that made no sense, because both their finery was all in shambles already. Mara slowly lost the dazed look in his dark eyes, and while his lips remained kiss-swollen, his blush drained into a fearful ashy complexion Von recognized all too well.

“Mara? Did you already go inside?” Padding footsteps retreated, but the caution in Mara’s gaze didn’t abate one bit.

Neither moved for a long moment. Mara was the first to break eye contact, but not to lower his gaze in submission, or glance furtively about for any approaching threats to their privacy. Instead, he lifted a single hand, shaking so badly he had to grasp the sleeve with the other to inspect the cloth, and whispered, “Oh no.”

Suddenly he couldn’t seem to sit still, patting himself all over and wincing with each newfound tear or stain. He was breathing faster and faster, and though Von had wanted Mara uncomfortable, unmoored, relying on the banks of his iceberg not to sink, well. This was something else.

Guilt and fear. Would Von ever be free of either?

“Hold still,” he said.

“No, oh no, what have you done? We are going to be in so much trouble, I don’t think I can fix all of this myself - ”

“Hold _still.”_

Von’s palm rose and fell rapidly with Mara’s panicked panting. Still, Mara stopped moving long enough for Von to whisper, “ _Mend.”_

Threads wriggled like little snakes under his hands, but in mere seconds Mara’s clothes were as good as new. His mouth fell open in surprise, only to abruptly snap shut as decorum took over. “Why are you helping me?”

Ouch. “Whether or not I hate you, I wouldn’t have you get in trouble for something _I_ forced you into. You didn’t even fucking want it, anyway.”

No answer came, and Von stood up with a sigh. Another quick mend spell had him looking as good as new, more or less. “This was a mistake,” he muttered. “I don’t know why I even bother with you. As if you’ve ever been anything more than a pain in my ass.”

 _“I’m_ not the one who seeks _you_ out,” replied Mara, drawing himself up from the dirt like he could ever be taller and prouder than Von. “If it’s so inconvenient to you, why find me to begin with?”

“Maybe I just wanted to teach you a lesson,” mused Von. “Ever think about that?”

Once again the younger elf seemed to need to think about that, and Von had no interest in waiting for him to be finished doing so. He left, and found that, come dinner time, he had no interest in seeking Mara out again. It was the first time in a long time that he’d simply cracked open a bottle of wine in his room and drunk it alone.

Before he could really begin to wallow, though, his door creaked open.

In a flash he was up from his bed, a fistful of fire held inches from the intruder’s face. He’d been aiming for their head; they were smaller than expected.

Mara stumbled backwards, his fearful face lit harshly by the flickering flames in Von’s hand. He snuffed them out hurriedly, acutely aware of how close he’d come to burning Mara.

(Skin gone shiny and blistered, Mara shocked into silence and gaping up at him - would it have been a good thing, if he’d been a hair more hasty?)

“What are you doing here?” Von hissed, grabbing Mara by the front of his nightshirt.

“I,” Mara opened his mouth, then shut it, seemingly still processing the near-miss he’d had with a major injury. “I, ah. I had something to tell you.”

“Obviously.” Von looked back and forth in the hallway, and once he was assured of the all-clear, yanked Mara close to him. He shut his door and backed away all at once, giving Mara an expectant look. Mara hesitated as he was released, then heaved a sigh.

“Earlier today, with my brother. That was irresponsible. Andel is sweet, but requires supervision. Otherwise he finds it too difficult to follow the rules of decorum.”

Tilting his head to the side, Von considered this. “Okay, first, I’m not your brother’s minder. But also, isn’t it against your _precious_ rules to fucking manipulate him like that?”

Mouth snapping shut with an audible click, Mara said nothing. Von rolled his eyes. “Did you seriously come to my room, just to whine about that? It’s over. If he didn’t already get in trouble, he won’t, because it’s not like I’m going to do that again.”

And, as he spoke, something strange happened. Mara’s face relaxed a bit. He took a tip-toeing step into the room (light as a mouse). Step after step, barely even looking at Von’s face, as though Mara didn’t constantly _watch_ Von, assessing how much of a threat he was in the mood to be. As though he was taking the iceberg at face value, above the waves.

“What does fuck mean?”

“Um, what?”

Calm as could be, Mara repeated, “What does fuck mean? You say it all the time, and other, unfamiliar words too, but the adults respond worst to that one. Is it blasphemous?”

Absurdity at its finest. Von snorted, then covered his mouth in surprise. Mara had a tiny smile curling his lips, and while it wasn’t as warm as it’d been watching his brother (Andel), it was better than Von had seen in a long time. His stomach churned. “No, it’s not blasphemous. I can show you what it means, if you want.”

Until Mara had unexpectedly turned up, his plan had been to jerk off tonight to the memory of tiny Mara frotting desperately against him. This was such a tempting alternative, even if Von had only just promised himself not to give in to that temptation. Self control versus creativity. The wine on his bedside table mocked him.

Caution had entered Mara’s eyes again, when he flicked them from the floor, to Von, to Von’s bed. So he’d guessed something, then? But even despite that, he nodded, and Von had to swallow hard. How much to tell him? How much to lie? It didn’t even cross Von’s mind to wonder why Mara had initiated this, and if it had, perhaps he would’ve called the whole thing off.

As it was, he marched over to the bed, sat down, and waited.

His stomach churned, nerves and fear and guilt. Mara approached, hesitantly, and then reached out as if to put his hand on the mattress.

Von caught his hips and pulled him in, off balance for the second time today. Mara fell onto his lap easily, and then he was straddling his cousin.

“Fucking,” Von said. “Is what we did earlier, except _better.”_

Tapping one finger to his chin, Mara mused aloud, “By better, do you mean more intense? Because it was already an overwhelming feeling, and - mmph!”

Mara’s mouth was forced open wide by Von’s hand at his jaw. Their kiss was brief, but Von got a good bite into Mara’s lips at the end of it. “You think too much.”

More kisses were littered across Mara’s face, liberally punctuated with bites. Von slipped one hand down his spine, pressing in to force it into an arch. When he reached Mara’s ass, he squeezed, and got a satisfying little squeak out of him.

Those nightshirts rode up far too easily. So much of Mara’s smooth, brown thighs were available for Von to touch, and he didn’t know where to start. Part of him wanted to slap one, but no, too loud. So he pinched Mara, and while it was mean, it earned him a gasp that went straight to his dick. Hiking his hand up under Mara’s clothes, he slipped his fingers between Mara’s legs.

This time around, Mara’s gasp was quite a bit more pleased.

“I don’t - _ahm,_ believe you.”

“Hmm?” Von wasn’t even mad, with his fingers creeping their way backwards.

“What you said th-that word means. I don’t believe you.”

“You said it earlier, why can’t you say it again?”

Because of shame? Because he was increasingly sure he shouldn’t be there (while Von found he cared increasingly less)? Or because Von’s fingertips were rubbing against his entrance, a dry rasp that would cause anxiety in anyone experienced, but just had Mara arching his back a bit more and wrinkling his brows, trying to process the unusual feeling.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re always avoiding my questions,” Von chided. Still, he pressed his fingertip in. An adult might not feel much from that, but Mara’s mouth opened in a round little “o” at the burn Von was sure would be going up his spine. “I’m getting you ready.”

Much as injuring Mara wasn’t his biggest worry, Von would need _something_ to soothe the way. Luckily, he still had that bottle of wine sitting open and ready.

Pouring a long stream straight from the bottle down Mara’s back, Von had the pleasure of watching goosebumps raise on that soft skin while dark red stained the white fabric. “Wh-what are you doing?”

“Don’t worry, I can get the stains out.” Mara squirming in wet, clinging clothing was something Von didn’t know he needed. It’d done the job of getting Von’s hand sloppy and dripping, too, and he could now push his finger in properly.

At first, Mara didn’t seem to know how to feel about it. Von decided to take a risk, and let go of where he’d been holding Mara in place to grope at the front of his nightshirt instead. Thankfully, rather than fall out of Von’s lap (or run away), Mara slung his arms around Von’s neck and clung to him. It was strange, more like a child holding onto an adult who was picking them up, rather than the embrace of a lover.

Right or wrong, that made it sweeter for Von. He massaged Mara’s little dick to hardness, fucked his finger in and out until the tight clench of Mara’s body relaxed enough to allow a second one in. Mara’s dark eyelashes fluttered, his cheeks flushing a pretty, deep red, dark enough to look like hot coals in a dark stone hearth. Von wanted better lighting, suddenly.

Instinct took over and Mara began to rock his hips back and forth. Every so often this made Von’s knuckles brush against the tent in his own clothing, and he found he was chewing on his own lips hard enough to taste metal. Still, something stopped him from just thrusting into Mara, right up until he heard a whisper he’d never thought would exist outside his dreams.

“Von.” Just his name, but breathless, and _wanting._

In a flash he’d pulled his fingers out and had Mara pinned to the bed. “Don’t feel so pious now, do you?” He growled, and while it might not’ve been objectively very impressive, it had Mara blinking his hazed-over eyes in confusion.

Fucking Mara was a terrible idea. Was that why Von was so eager to do it?

At the last second he redirected so he was pressing his dick between Mara’s soft thighs instead, but Mara still squirmed under him as though he’d been impaled. The sticky wine created a delicious friction, which only intensified with each twitch of Mara’s legs.

Tension which would’ve been painful in other circumstances became wonderful. Von pushed Mara’s nightshirt up high enough to reveal his heaving chest, and dove in with reckless abandon to lick and suck at his bared skin. His belly fluttered with each brush of Von’s fingertips, and his dick was weeping a tiny bit of clear fluid onto his navel.

All of these details would have to wait to be properly appreciated, though, because Von wasn’t going to last very long. The frustration from earlier in the day was peaking remarkably quickly, and with Mara pulling at his long hair, unsure whether to get his mouth away from his chest or to pull it closer, well, who could blame him?

He let his hips jackrabbit with no thought of embarrassment or decorum, fingers pressing into Mara’s dainty waist hard enough to bruise. The thighs around him clenched spastically, and it was enough to send him over the edge.

When he finished, he was left panting into Mara’s neck, his bodyweight pinning the smaller elf down. It took a long moment for his head to clear enough that he noticed how Mara’s hips were trying to buck up against him, tiny mewls huffing into his ear.

Lazily, Von reached down and cupped Mara’s dick once again. He didn’t get up, so Mara was struggling a bit to breathe even as he desperately frotted his way to orgasm.

“You’re filthier than I am,” Von mumbled, somewhat awed. “I didn’t do anything like this until I was way older than you are.”

Fear, then, a stuttering in Mara’s movements as his eyes went from scrunched-shut to wide open in less than a second. But, despite the whites shining in the darkness, he still came with a choked sound muffled into Von’s hair.

Enough of that, then. Von rolled over to give himself space to breathe metaphorically, and Mara space to breathe literally. While he was at it, he might as well cast prestidigitation. It wouldn’t do to have those stains soaking into Mara’s clothes and letting everyone know where he’d been the night before.

Neither spoke for a long moment. It wasn’t Von’s way to bask in the afterglow, but he couldn’t begin to guess what was going through Mara’s mind at the moment. And he couldn’t _leave,_ this was _his_ room. So, stuck, he waited for Mara to break the ice.

“Th-that was…” Mara tried to sit up, but his arm was shaking so hard when he braced on it that he fell back down. Von almost caught him, but stopped himself just in time. “Depraved. If even you - you said I was filthy.”

“Felt good though, didn’t it?”

To his own surprise, Von was holding his breath waiting for an answer. Tears welling in his eyes, Mara nodded. “What did you _do_ to me?”

“Nothing,” Von said, indignant. He sat up himself, then pushed at Mara’s shoulder. “Nothing permanent, anyway. Now, get the fuck up.”

Mara did, damn near flinching at each touch from Von. And that - Von couldn’t. He hadn’t wanted. But hadn’t he?

“Get out.”

“What? Now?”

Though he’d spoken without thinking, Von found that his gut was only shouting louder as Mara hesitated. He shook like he was cold, like Von hadn’t cleaned the drying wine off of him. Yes, Von was sure. “Get out.”

 _There_ was a proper flinch. Like an elastic band that’d been drawing them together over the course of Mara’s whole life had finally snapped. Von took a deep breath.

Mara managed to walk to the door on his own, but halfway there those little knees buckled and almost sent him to the floor. He only barely caught himself on Von’s bedside table. Von pointedly didn’t (wouldn’t let himself) help him.

“N-never touch me again,” said Mara, backing towards the door.

“You’re the one who came to me,” retorted Von.

He couldn’t see Mara’s back as anything other than prey running away from a near miss, or a lonely boat on a frigid ocean, but that didn’t make him feel any less like _he’d_ been the one flayed by _Mara._

A year later, Mara would take Von’s hand in a desperate plea for a night of freedom, and the two of them would feel the contact like ants crawling under their skin, for that night. Just that one night. Von wrapped himself particularly tightly in his blankets and wished for more wine. Or no - whiskey. Something properly strong, to help him forget.


End file.
